PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A new front in the battle over
same-sex marriage opened yesterday in Portland, where county
officials issued dozens of licenses to gay couples after deciding
that Oregon law allowed the unions.
New York’s attorney general, meanwhile, said gay weddings
in that state are illegal, even though he personally would like to
see the law changed. His opinion didn’t deter a second mayor
in the state from announcing not only that he would conduct gay
marriages, but that he intends to marry his own same-sex
partner.
Mayors and county officials in four states have allowed gay
marriages, including thousands in San Francisco, which started the
wedding march Feb. 12.
The marriages have met with fierce opposition and calls for a
constitutional amendment banning the unions.
In Portland, more than 150 gay couples lined up to get marriage
licenses after Multnomah County officials decided it would be
unconstitutional to deny them.
Among those getting licenses was Christine Tanner, who won a
landmark Oregon court ruling in 1998 ordering state and local
governments to offer benefits to their employees’ same-sex
partners.